Remarks

This class is used by the Inventory Client Agent to
enumerate the third-party MIF files at a designated collection
directory. For each file, the instance provider parses the file
against the MIF syntax, validates the contents against
Configuration Manager restrictions, and reports each individual MIF
group in a generic form that is usable by the Inventory Client
Agent and management point. The generic instance format is
specifically designed to translate consistently and easily between
MIF syntax for any number of MIF group definitions and values. This
translation is especially important on the management point, where
the Inventory Client Agent report is translated back into MIF
format for processing at the Configuration Manager site server.

The preferred way to extend client inventory is through
WMI instances (static or dynamic). However, this provider allows a
migration step for SMS 2.0 MIF files already in use.

The SMS_MIFGroup class is specifically used to
expose No Identification MIF files (NOIDMIFs) through WMI in client
inventory. NOIDMIFs are used to extend client inventory beyond that
requested for specific WMI instances in the site policy (see
InventoryDataItem). For example, hardware vendors can supply asset
information by using NOIDMIFs.